


Ma Chérie

by loona_biased



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: But it's for the plot so, Coming Out, Don't be mistaken: I'm not good at or enthusiastic about French, F/F, Fluff, French Tutor!Yves, French!Heejin, Friends to Lovers, Ha Sooyoung | Yves and Park Chaewon | Go Won Are Sisters, Im Yeojin & Jo Haseul are Siblings, Jeon Heejin and Jo Haseul Are Neighbours, Jeon Heejin-centric, Love Confessions, Mentioned France (Country), Self-Discovery, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Yveseul, heewon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loona_biased/pseuds/loona_biased
Summary: Once she had reached the final step, Heejin gazed at the black-haired girl, who was looking at the ground, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist. "Um, I'm Heejin." She lifted her hand in a small wave.'Wonnie' nodded again, eyes flickering briefly to the movement. "I'm Gouin Won-Young."OrHeejin didn't know that her French tutor has a sister. A cute one at that.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Jo Haseul, Im Yeojin & Jeon Heejin, Jeon Heejin & Jo Haseul, Jeon Heejin/Park Chaewon | Go Won
Kudos: 15





	Ma Chérie

Heejin didn't remember her childhood in France; she would look over the albums, waiting for any familiarity that she couldn't find in the possessions that she still had, yet there was none. To be fair though, she was less than two years old when her mother took her back to South Korea.

However, she had the smallest grasp on French; maybe she was just good at picking up on social cues, but whenever her mother was catching up with her old friends, she could put together what was going on, even able to nod or shake her head in response when she was ushered into a video call.

Still, her vocabulary was definitely lacking, limited to only a few numbers, greetings and "Bon Appetite" before every meal.

But she didn't really feel comfortable asking her mother for help, given her perfectionist issues - for all Heejin could memorise how she stroked every line of a painting, she could not remember which way to stroke a line over some vowels (she usually just went with a horizontal line and hoped for the best) - and after boredly scrolling through videos of teachers droning and monochrome websites, she realised what she needed: a tutor.

( _And to go outside more_ , she thought, blinking as she turned away from her phone screen.)

\----

And thus, with the aid of her neighbour Haseul, she was introduced to Gouin Yves, Haseul's classmate and the best French student of their school in years. In fact, if it weren't for her trouble-making ways, she'd be the pride of the school (although she was still allowed to join in competitions with supervision - hey, Yves's stubborness wouldn't let her talents go to waste).

To be truthful, Yves was incredibly intimidating to Heejin, with her grey-green leather jacket and unwavering stare, and for the first time since she moved schools, Heejin felt her people skills crumble before her. She ended up insisting on Haseul joining them in case the conversation needed help moving along.

That's how she found out 1) the jacket was actually recommended by Haseul (just one "I told you it would suit you!" and Yves's stare softened as she turned to Haseul, the corner of her lips twitching) and 2) Yves didn't mind Heejin's shyer nature, flipping her hand dismissively (but not without empathy) at Heejin's apology for a lack of speech. "As long as we can actually try speaking French, yeah?"

Heejin nodded, her smile similar to Yves's own.

\----

After that, the trio was somewhat cemented, occasionally increasing when a friend of Yves or Haseul joined in, only to drift off when Heejin and Yves really started getting into practice.

(Haseul didn't even need to be around to facilitate a conversation anymore, but she enjoyed being there, and Yves was more than happy for her to join.)

Naturally, this lead to them hanging out at Haseul's house; Haseul usually had chores to do anyway (she often remarked out loud that she should get her baby sister Yeojin to help out more), and Heejin was used to having a bit of noise in the background.

So when Haseul's mother had the house occupied with some of her friends, Heejin was somewhat thrown off by Haseul's suggestion to go to Yves's house; so was Yves briefly, before coolly shrugging and saying it would work for her.

Yves's house was much bigger than Heejin's or Haseul's; it had two floors and a loft, and the garden was huge from what they could guess just by looking. Yves just shrugged: "My mother likes to show off. She won't be home though -" she gestured to the imprint of a car on the pebbles "- abroad for business."

As soon as they stepped in the house, Yves called out, "Wonnie!" Slightly startled, Heejin jumped. Catching sight of her jolt, Yves said, "Ah, just checking that my sister's home."

Before Heejin could react (read: admit that she thought Yves just made up having a sister for the sake of conversation) a "Here!" resounded through the house, ringing in Heejin's ears pleasantly like a bell, and light footsteps grew closer and -

Heejin caught sight of the girl at the top of the stairs like a tourist notices the beam of the Eiffel Tower on the horizon - she was wearing a flowing pair of black trousers and a red hoodie, sleeves pushed up to reveal a bracelet around her left wrist. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, revealing a face too far for Heejin to really see.

The girl saw the two strangers with her sister and froze, looking at Yves briefly before looking away.

"These are my friends, Haseul and Heejin," Yves explained, stepping on the back of her shoes to remove them. "Heejin needs help with French, and Haseul's helping me - well, us out."

(And maybe if Heejin had been looking at Haseul, she'd have seen the small grin on her face, but her head was feeling strangely full as the girl nodded, slowly descending the stairs.)

Once she had reached the final step, Heejin gazed at the black-haired girl, who was looking at the ground, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist. "Um, I'm Heejin." She lifted her hand in a small wave.

'Wonnie' nodded again, eyes flickering briefly to the movement. "I'm Gouin Won-Young."

Haseul introduced herself with the type of enthusiasm that seemed common in older sisters (if she and Yves were examples to go by) but Heejin couldn't really hear her, too busy staring at Won-Young; from here, Heejin could see that her face was bare and softly-shaped and- _wow_ , did Heejin want to change topics all of a sudden, despite not actually talking to anyone.

\----

After that, Yves brought Heejin and Haseul to the kitchen, telling Won-young that she'd put some cookies in the oven, to which her sister nodded, turning to go back upstairs. (Heejin wrote off the strange disappointment she felt as a desire to not be left alone with Haseul and Yves - honestly, it almost felt like _she_ was the third-wheel, not Haseul.)

"I don't mind if she... hangs out with us here," Heejin offered, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible.

Yves at least seemed to take it. "She's just busy messing around. Maybe she'll be a bit more chatty when we're all eating." She closed the oven door and thought for a moment, before turning to the two. "Do you guys want to stay for dinner?"

"Yeah, sure!" Haseul grinned, before her face went blank. "Wait, but I'm supposed to be looking after Yeojin tonight. Ah-"

"You can bring her over if you want." Yves quickly spat out, and for the first time ever, looking at Yves's almost sad attempt at a cool facade, Heejin realised something: Yves was all confidence, no composure, ploughing on with all the grace of... well, a snow plough. "I mean, your parents aren't coming back until tomorrow, so maybe it would be fun if we... could all hang out together!"

Haseul was smiling before Yves even finished her sentence, teeth peeking through. "You really mean that?"

Yves nodded earnestly, and as Haseul gave a small cheer and went to call Yeojin to check with her, Heejin couldn't help but feel like there was something very familiar in the gazes the two older girls just shared.

"What about you, Heej?" Heejin was brought out of her head by Yves's question. Truthfully, Heejin hadn't registered that she had been invited as well (and felt touched that Yves considered her close enough to offer), but she declined, knowing that she promised to help her mother out with cooking dessert. "Sorry, but I have to..."

When it came clear that she wasn't going to specify, Haseul waved it off. "Your mum?"

Heejin nodded. "Yeah."

There was a moment of silent. Then:

"What kind of 'Yo Mama' joke is this?"

Heejin cringed as Haseul lost her shit at Yves's dumb joke. To be fair, Yves would be cringing too if she hadn't had made Haseul smile.

\----

Only ten minutes later, the cookies were done, a buttery aroma filling the air as Yves took them out of the oven, everyone's eyes gleaming.

"Don't start without me, I'm just gonna get Won-Young!" Yves said, practically speeding up the stairs. Heejin was almost impressed at the sight.

"...does your mother really not want you to stay over or..."

"I mean, I did promise her that I'd make dessert with her. But like... Yves is nice but I don't really feel like..."

After a decade of growing up together, Haseul understood Heejin's habits, patting her shoulder. "Yeah."

"... I mean, Yves is great, and obviously you like her so -"

"What?!" Haseul let out, before trying to laugh (it sounded more like a half-hearted squawk than anything). "What are you talking about? I don't!"

Heejin felt weird, like when she got something right that she shouldn't have said. "...what do you mean?"

Before Haseul could say anything, they heard Yves bounding down the stairs, with Won-Young's voice just barely audible. Haseul mimed throwing away a key, and Heejin nodded unsurely.

_What's her deal?_

Yves and Won-Young greeted the two with a 'hey' and nod respectively, the former going to get some glasses and the latter a bottle of milk. Then they sat down on the other side of the table, Yves parallel to Haseul and Won-young to Heejin.

Haseul gave some small jazz hands (mostly to Yves). "Bon Appetite!"

Yves giggled, taking the bottle and pouring some for Haseul like she was a waitress. "Good job, mademoiselle!"

It seemed like they were in their own world, causing Heejin to turn to Won-Young, who seemed to scrutinise the pair before catching Heejin looking at her. "Hey."

Heejin blinked. Then: "Hi."

Words seemed to fail her slightly.

Won-Young nodded to nothing in particular again then looked away to reach for a cookie and dunk it in her milk. "How's French going?"

"Pretty good." A beat of silence passed. "Do you know any?"

Won-Young shook her head, still staring down. "Nah. I know some Latin though."

"Cool." Heejin did not know Latin and now had no idea what to say until she caught sight of Won-young's bracelet, a pretty collection of long brown beads. "That bracelet is really pretty."

Won-Young looked at Heejin, only briefly making eye contact and giving a stiff smile before looking away. "Thanks."

 _Well,_ Heejin thought, _seems not knowing how to act runs in the family._ "No problem."

"Made it myself."

"Really? That's... cool." Heejin wondered what to say, desperately reaching for a more lengthy response. "How did you knot it? At the end?"

As soon as the words came out, Heejin cringed. _How did she knot it?_ That was such a weird question-

Won-young scrunched her eyebrows together, glancing to check for any signs of sarcasm, but finding none. "Oh, um... do you know what a sailor's knot is?"

 _Never mind._ Perhaps Heejin had found the one person on Earth who both didn't mind talking about types of knots and also knew about types of knots. "Yeah, you kind of put a loop in and out of another loop and... just pull..."

Won-Young blinked, then nodded. "Yeah." A pause. "How do you know?"

Heejin shrugged. "Took a camp last summer. We learnt a few different types of arts and crafts for two weeks."

Won-Young was no longer looking at her, and maybe that should have meant that she wasn't interested and yet -"That's pretty cool. Did you have any favourite parts?"

A small smile appeared on Heejin's face, though now she was looking down as well, Gouin Won-Young wouldn't have noticed anyway. "Painting, for sure. Like - oh my god, the watercolours were so fun to use, and the colours blended together so prettily and - um, yeah." Heejin, worried about being boring, added, "They had something on jewellery-making!"

"Really?" Won-Young's voice perked up a bit, making Heejin grin.

"Yeah, my friend Hyunjin and I actually made some anklets together." She grinned, thinking of her shy friend; maybe she and Won-Young would get along. "She likes cats and I like rabbits so we got a pair of charms on both of ours."

"That's sweet," Won-Young said, nodding. "I like butterflies, but cats are quite cute."

"But not rabbits?"

Won-Young seemed to realise what she said but shook her head anyway. "Nah."

It was obviously a joke, but the mock-dismissiveness sent the two into a fit of giggles, Heejin looking up to face Gouin Won-Young and - _oh_.

Her teeth peeked through her lips, and her eyes were scrunched up, and Heejin felt her heart flutter slightly at the sight, warmer than the cookies, long since abandoned in favour of talking to Won-Young, however awkward they were.

"What are you two snickering about?"

The two startled, having forgotten that Haseul and Yves were even there; to be fair, those two did the same. Yves smiled as she waited for an answer, while Haseul stirred her tea ( _wait, when did Haseul get a cup of tea?_ ), a more absent-minded smile on her face.

"Um, arts and crafts?"

Yves gave a small 'ah', reaching over to ruffle Won-Young's hair. "I see we have _two_ art nerds now."

Won-Young swatted her hand away lightly, but Heejin could see her stifling a smile, a pink stain on her cheeks. "Yeah."

And Heejin - she felt like melting.

\----

In the end, Yeojin declined as well, choosing to instead sleepover at Heejin's house like she and Haseul used to do. (Heejin's mother liked to baby her and Yeojin liked the cakes that she made, so it was a win-win.)

"Auntie, please may we watch a film?" Yeojin said, making her voice slightly babyish without even realising (Heejin wondered if it was just an instinct that the youngest child always had. _What would happen if you suddenly became a middle child? Would you still have it?_ )

Of course, as usual, Heejin's mother allowed them one film before bedtime - as usual, Yeojin picked the movie, but unusually, Heejin didn't even try to fight it; her head still felt strangely full.

Even more unusually, Yeojin didn't even pick a good film - the film she put on was one universally hated by both families for its corny humour and over-the-top acting - it was so loud, it actually felt quite with how much their heads tried to drown it out.

The final straw was when Yeojin nudged Heejin's side, seeking a hug - as much as Yeojin was touchy, she usually wrapped herself in a blanket when movies were on. Heejin opened her arms wide, Yeojin rubbing her head into her shoulder. Heejin thought for a moment, before asking, "Are you okay?"

"... no." A deep sigh fell out of Yeojin's mouth.

"Oh." Heejin rubbed up and down her arms, a gesture that always comforted Yeojin. "What's wrong?"

"So... you know I broke up with my boyfriend?" Heejin nodded - Yeojin had mentioned him in passing, although she never posted anything permanent like couple photos with him on social media. "Well, he was a great guy and all, and I really liked him. We, like, walked to school together and met up and held hands and stuff..."

Heejin nodded, waiting for Yeojin to continue.

"... but I never wanted to kiss him."

 _Oh. Wait_ \- "How come?"

Yeojin leaned back against her tiredly. "I don't know."

On the film, someone splattered the food on their tray onto someone else. Heejin turned the volume down.

"...it's okay to be nervous about kissing someone."

Yeojin stayed quiet.

"I mean, have you ever kissed someone before?" Heejin felt Yeojin still. Heejin looked down to see her eyes had gone blank, so she nudged her. "Jinnie?"

(It was a nickname that Yeojin had placed onto both herself and Heejin one of the first times they met, filled with elation at someone sharing part of her name with her in the way that 5 year olds were at the most random things. Why she gave them the same nickname was a bit confusing though.)

Yeojin gathered the blankets in her hands, bundled up so much that it looked more like a rope than anything, and started to fiddle with it anxiously.

"I kissed someone today."

"Wait, what?! Who?!" Heejin immediately felt guilt at the sudden rise in her voice, seeing Yeojin curl in on herself. "I-I'm sorry, I meant... who did you kiss?"

"...a friend."

"... a friend of yours or one of his-"

"Mine." Blotches of pink formed on Yeojin's cheeks. "It was an accident, but I got excited and I meant to kiss her on the cheek but her head turned and -" Her speech turned frantic and Heejin knew she had to cut her off.

"Drink." Heejin handed her a glass of strawberry milk, and Yeojin drank, slightly coughing afterwards. "Okay, first things first: did you apologise to her?"

_Her. Her. Her. Why did that stick out to Heejin so much?_

Yeojin nodded.

"Okay... then what happened?"

"She said it was okay, and then I left."

"And you haven't, like, talked to her or texted her since?"

Yeojin shook her head. "It felt too weird."

"Right." And for a bit, that was that. The film had been muted at this point, and the only sounds they could hear were from the cars that drove by.

"Jinnie?" Heejin heard.

"Yeah?"

"What if I want to kiss her again?"

"..." Heejin knew she should answer but her head felt full and empty at the same time, the same way being outside felt like on a hot and humid day. "Then... you should, like..."

"...you know what? Never mind."

"Wait, Yeojin -"

"Please can we go to bed? I'm tired." Heejin understood what she really meant. _'Can we stop talking?'_

"Yeah, okay." She gave Yeojin one last tight hug, before sending her off, while she folded the blankets. Unsure of how her mother wanted her to arrange the pillows, she gave up and just shoved them to either side.

When she went upstairs, she realised that Yeojin had moved her stuff to the guest bedroom, and her heart sank at the idea of her being alone after the talk they just had.

Her thoughts jumbled as she wondered how to deal with everything that had happened today; the way Haseul acted around Yves (and vice-versa), how Gouin Won-Young smiled, and what Yeojin said. She couldn't help but feel like they were all connected.

Sadly, she also had thoughts of the movie running in her head, like an obnoxious tapeworm. It had all of the cliches that, while applicable to real-life, were drawn out way too much. The way the two protagonists felt like the only ones to exist, and their stares lingered on each other, and the awkward way they denied their feelings -

Wait.

 _"What?!" Haseul let out, before trying to laugh (it sounded more like a half-hearted squawk than anything). "What are you talking about? I don't!"_

Heejin blinked. Was she just confusing real-life and tropes? Or was she onto something?

She thought about it for a while, before giving into her tiredness and closing her eyes.

She'd think about it in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: hmm, we need more Heewon content  
> Me: *also creates yveseul content and yeojinx??? content*
> 
> Anyway, I FINALLY found out that this has an italics function, so let me just edit my Hyunjin and Yves fic, askjdkaksha
> 
> Check out my tumblr: @loonat-son-ic and leave a kudos if you enjoyed!!


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